Saturday

Good news on the diet so far! Since Monday, I have lost 5 lbs. and Walter has lost 4! It hasn't been very hard to stick to the diet and we are going to keep going! We will likely not be able to stick to the diet tonight because we are taking Cameron & Bryce to a Mexican restaurant for Cameron's birthday and there really isn't anything low carb on the menu. You may think that a taco salad without the shell would be ok, but seasoned beef is full of carbs, I've discovered! So, we are just going to enjoy a nice dinner and then go back to our diet once we get home.

Work was busy yesterday, but went by fast and I'm glad to be home for the weekend!!! My co-worker, Joan, & I held the first Why Try group with some of my 6th graders, and it went ok, but the kids were really silly when we first put them together and were only somewhat cooperative, but as they get used to the group, it should be better. We had the kids introduce themselves and tell a little about themselves, then explained briefly what Why Try was about. The teacher was supposed to have the kids come straight to our room at the scheduled time, but that didn't happen, so we lost 15 of our 30 minutes just waiting to have someone find the kids. Overall, it was ok and i'm looking forward to next week. Joan had to lead the 7th grade group at another of my schools by herself due to the meeting I found out about at the last minute, and that group did not go very well at all. We really do need to have 2 of us, at least at first, to keep the peace and settle the kids down. Unfortunately, I can't make it to that group next week either! I offered that Joan could just skip next week, but she wants to go ahead and have the group again. Many of the kids think automatically that they are in trouble or that the group is for the "bad kids" and it really isn't. It is for kids who need motivation, help making good choices, and dealing with peer pressure, but I know it causes some anxiety for the kids at first.

Thanks for all of the kind comments about JP's poem, and yes, I do plan to frame it! He said in his letter that he hoped I would frame it or put it on the refrigerator. He called last night to get some addresses of people who wrote to him, including my friend, Lesley! You can never imagine how much it means to hear from people when you're in a place like that. What's crazy though is that they can't have the envelope, so he doesn't always have a return address. What do they think you can do with an envelope? Anywho, he is doing good and was very happy to have gotten some mail. I found out yesterday that his Maw Maw (his dad's mother) completed her chemotherapy for lung cancer and the cancer is gone! She still has to have radiation to "sterilize" the area, but the cancer is gone. She & her husband both have other health problems, but at least that is not a problem anymore. They live about 15 minutes from me and I try to check in on them when I have a chance. They are good people and helped me so much with JP when he was little.

Walter's 50th birthday party was scheduled for today and I'm so nervous that people didn't get the email about us rescheduling it and will show up today!!! I made sure I cleaned the house good just in case!! Things like that just happen to me, so I know better than to think nobody will show up! Walter wants to rent a daiquiri machine for the party like we did at my graduation party and i'm excited about that! It was such a great idea and everyone loved it!